A major Hollywood player has come out of retirement to direct an episode of Stranger Things’ final season.
Providing an update for the Netflix drama’s eagerly-awaited fifth and final season, series co-creator Ross Duffer (who runs the show, along with brother Matt) has revealed that its first volume is ‘done.’
Season Five will release in three parts – four episodes (Volume One) on November 26, 2025, followed by three episodes (Volume Two) on December 25, and then one final episode (Volume Three) on December 31.
With the first set of episodes in the bag, Duffer has shared how legendary director Frank Darabont came on board to direct the third episode of the season.
Darabont, 66, is often credited as having directed ‘the greatest film of all time’ in The Shawshank Redemption. Other achievements also include The Green Mile, The Mist and The Majestic.
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The former Walking Dead showrunner hasn’t directed since 2013, wrapping up his career with four episodes of the crime drama Mob City.
Taking to Instagram, Duffer shared a picture from the editing room, which featured the title card of episode three: The Turnbow Trap.
‘Chapters Three and Four: locked, mixed, scored, colored… Volume One is DONE,’ Duffer wrote.
He continued: ‘“The Turnbow Trap” is the most classic Stranger Things-y episode of the season. It’s got all our favorite things. Directed by one of our idols Frank Darabont (Shawshank! Green Mile! Walking Dead!) — who literally came out of retirement for this. He crushed it, obviously.
‘“Sorcerer” is MASSIVE — as big as any finale we’ve ever done, and the most logistically insane shoot of our lives. We’re still recovering.’
Fans had been whipped into a frenzy at this latest tease, with many unable to wait for what comes next.
‘Plssss we need these episodes now😭🙏 we don’t want to wait till the end of November😭😭😭,’ begged the_stranger_nerd203410 in the comments below.
‘Is this a joke to you?’ asked dailyjonathanbyers.
‘how are we supposed to keep waiting for another ~3 months? 💀’ agreed merlin_hlr.
‘I will throw up from excitement now,’ said second_to_third_step.
Darabont announced that he would be joining the Upside Down last year, confirming that he would direct two episodes of the upcoming series.
‘What really dragged me out of retirement was that my wife and I really love this show,’ he told The Daily Beast.
‘Our content now is so filled with horrible people doing horrible things for greedy reasons but Stranger Things has so much heart. That positivity is something I really responded to.’
And what, exactly, can fans expect from Stranger Things’ final season? While the Duffer brothers are keeping tight-lipped, the show did release a brief teaser trailer earlier this year.
This gave viewers their first look at all the major players, including Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Winona Ryder as Joyce, Maya Hawke as Robin and Natalie Dyer as Nancy.
As the trailer continues, we’re also treated to a glimpse of Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas and Sadie Sink as the ill-fated Max, who is still in a coma after the events of last season.
Discussing the show’s ending a few years ago, the brothers shared how they had created a 25-page mythology document at the start of series one.
‘The last remaining questions that are answered in that document, we’ve punted a couple of those to have some big reveals in Season 5, and that’s really going to affect what Season 5 is about,’ Ross said at the time.
As for the teaser trailer, it largely consists of scenes from Volume One, meaning that there’s far more which remains unseen.
It ‘barely scratches the surface,’ Ross hinted.
Stranger Things season five will return to Netflix in November 2025. The first four seasons are now available to stream.
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